Can celebrity endorsements affect political outcomes? evidence from the 2008 US democratic presidential primary

Craig Garthwaite; Timothy J. Moore

doi:10.1093/jleo/ewr031

Can celebrity endorsements affect political outcomes? evidence from the 2008 US democratic presidential primary

Craig Garthwaite^*, Timothy J. Moore

^*Corresponding author for this work

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Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

32 Scopus citations

Abstract

Identifying the effects of political endorsements has historically been difficult. Before the 2008 Democratic presidential primary, Barack Obama was endorsed by talk show host Oprah Winfrey. In this article, we assess the impact of this endorsement using, as measures of Winfrey's influence, subscriptions to her magazine and sales of books she recommends. We find that her endorsement increased Obama's votes and financial contributions, and also increased overall voter turnout. No connection is found between the measures of Oprah's influence and previous elections, nor with underlying political preferences. Our results suggest that Winfrey's endorsement was responsible for approximately 1 million additional votes for Obama.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	355-384
Number of pages	30
Journal	Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization
Volume	29
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1093/jleo/ewr031
State	Published - Apr 2013

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Economics and Econometrics
Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management
Law

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10.1093/jleo/ewr031

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title = "Can celebrity endorsements affect political outcomes? evidence from the 2008 US democratic presidential primary",

abstract = "Identifying the effects of political endorsements has historically been difficult. Before the 2008 Democratic presidential primary, Barack Obama was endorsed by talk show host Oprah Winfrey. In this article, we assess the impact of this endorsement using, as measures of Winfrey's influence, subscriptions to her magazine and sales of books she recommends. We find that her endorsement increased Obama's votes and financial contributions, and also increased overall voter turnout. No connection is found between the measures of Oprah's influence and previous elections, nor with underlying political preferences. Our results suggest that Winfrey's endorsement was responsible for approximately 1 million additional votes for Obama.",

author = "Craig Garthwaite and Moore, {Timothy J.}",

note = "Funding Information: Political endorsements have a long and rich history in American politics. Endorsements by politicians and interest groups, such as labor unions and business organizations, date back to the early 20th century. Celebrity endorsements have a tradition nearly as long. Historians trace the role of celebrities in politics to the 1920 presidential campaign of Warren Harding, who was endorsed by film stars such as Al Jolson and Mary Pickford (Morello 2001). Many presidential campaigns since have involved celebrities. For example, in 1960 John F. Kennedy was supported by {\textquoteleft}{\textquoteleft}Rat Pack{\textquoteright}{\textquoteright} members such as Sammy Davis Jr. and Dean Martin, and Ronald Reagan received support from many celebrities, including Frank Sinatra (Adamowski 2004; Jolson-Colburn 2007).",

year = "2013",

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doi = "10.1093/jleo/ewr031",

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AU - Garthwaite, Craig

AU - Moore, Timothy J.

N1 - Funding Information: Political endorsements have a long and rich history in American politics. Endorsements by politicians and interest groups, such as labor unions and business organizations, date back to the early 20th century. Celebrity endorsements have a tradition nearly as long. Historians trace the role of celebrities in politics to the 1920 presidential campaign of Warren Harding, who was endorsed by film stars such as Al Jolson and Mary Pickford (Morello 2001). Many presidential campaigns since have involved celebrities. For example, in 1960 John F. Kennedy was supported by ‘‘Rat Pack’’ members such as Sammy Davis Jr. and Dean Martin, and Ronald Reagan received support from many celebrities, including Frank Sinatra (Adamowski 2004; Jolson-Colburn 2007).

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AB - Identifying the effects of political endorsements has historically been difficult. Before the 2008 Democratic presidential primary, Barack Obama was endorsed by talk show host Oprah Winfrey. In this article, we assess the impact of this endorsement using, as measures of Winfrey's influence, subscriptions to her magazine and sales of books she recommends. We find that her endorsement increased Obama's votes and financial contributions, and also increased overall voter turnout. No connection is found between the measures of Oprah's influence and previous elections, nor with underlying political preferences. Our results suggest that Winfrey's endorsement was responsible for approximately 1 million additional votes for Obama.

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